SOMA Living May 2022

MEET THE ALLSOPP FAMILY

Photography by Jamie Meier

This is a story of parallel lives merging.

Jacquelyn and Dale Allsopp were both born and raised in Brooklyn. She in Bensonhurst and he in Brownsville. At the age of four, Jacquelyn started dancing. By fourth grade, she was accepted in to the highly competitive Ballet Tech program (The NYC public school for dance). By sixth grade, Dale excelled in the class room and applied to participate in the “Prep for Prep” program (designed to provide students of color with access to top tier educational, leadership, and advancement opportunities. After completing the preparatory component of “Prep for Prep”, Dale enrolled in high school at The Calhoun School as a full scholarship student. Jacquelyn explained, “By age eleven we were both taking the train to the city by ourselves to attend class. I can’t imagine our own kids doing this.” By 2004, both Jacquelyn and Dale had jobs in San Francisco. They met at a Salsa night club. Jacquelyn shared, “He started Salsa dancing young and I’m part Puerto Rican. It was a natural match.” She added, “Once we decided to have babies we wanted to be back on the East Coast with family, so we moved back to Brooklyn. After our second child, we outgrew our apartment and longed for a bigger place. Dale’s Aunt, Lynette Robinson, was part of one of the first black families in Maplewood 40 years ago. We loved visiting. Growing up

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